Biography
Deeptima is the Senior Research Manager of Brighton and Sussex Medical School based at University of Sussex.
Deeptima works closely with the Director and Deputy Director of Research and Knowledge Exchange, Departmental Research Leads, and the Research Development Office to support and strengthen the School's research environment, research culture, and long-term research sustainability. Her role focuses on research capacity development, fostering interdisciplinary and cross-sector collaborations, supporting a diverse and competitive research funding portfolio, and serving as the operational lead for the School's REF2029 preparations and submission.
She leads and coordinates initiatives that support research impact, public and patient involvement, and researcher development across all career stages. Working in partnership with NHS organisations, research networks, local authorities, charities, policymakers, and other external stakeholders, she helps facilitate collaborations that enhance the visibility, reach, and societal benefit of the School's research.
Deeptima in collaboration with a wide range of colleagues contributes to the delivery of the research strand of the School's Strategic Plan 2030, supporting the development of research centres and strategic themes, coordinating impact and engagement activities, and creating opportunities for researchers to develop funding applications, collaborative partnerships, and academic careers. Her areas of interest include research impact and knowledge exchange, public and patient involvement, open research practices, research funding development, and stakeholder engagement.
As part of her role, she has supported the establishment of three research centres and two research groups and has coordinated a programme of several workshops covering research funding, fellowships, impact, public engagement, academic publishing, professional development, and collaborative research. She is interested in fostering inclusive and collaborative research environments that support researchers at all career stages.
Prior to working at Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Deeptima was the operational lead of preparations for the Research Excellence Frameworks (REF2021 and REF2014), the UK’s national funding exercise, in two different schools across social science and science disciplines at University of Sussex. Together with the UoA Leads, she led the coordination and submission of REF reporting, monitoring and supporting all aspects including mock audits, drafting Environment statement narratives, supporting Impact Case Study Leads and part of the group supporting the review and selection of publications.
In 2022, Deeptima was awarded the Impact Champion Award for University of Sussex by PVC for innovative leadership in professional services that supported expanded capacity and creativity in generating research impact.